Faith Coalition: Transformational training to transform the world

Saturday

Dec 8, 2018 at 7:00 PM

My journey in life hasn’t always been an easy one. I had four children out of wedlock. I was a teen mom. I’ve been incarcerated twice. I experienced domestic battery first hand and was an avid drug user for over 20 years. So, I can say I’ve walked a tedious journey to get to where I am in my life today.

I was introduced to the Faith Coalition for the Common Good at a community event earlier this summer, and through the Faith Coalition, I had the opportunity and pleasure of attending Gamaliel National week long leadership training Nov. 11-17. During this training, I was exposed to the ins and outs of how to be part of systemic change in my community. I met people from all walks of life. There was no social divide. We all had a common goal, which was to better our society and our community.

I learned the importance of getting to know a person and his or her self-interest by doing “one to ones” with individuals. This was very helpful in teaching me how to form a strong team, utilizing each other’s assets to obtain a desired outcome and reaching our common goal. I learned how to become a powerful leader!

My training experience can be summarized through this excerpt taken from the Gamaliel Transformational Narrative and Litany:

As a faith-based, community organizing network, we — the people of Gamaliel — build power to transform the world as it is into the new world envisioned by people of faith. We recognize the historic and present violations of and systemic sins against people and our values, and in response we commit to a long-term agenda that creates structural racial equity, builds people’s control of government, builds community control of the economy, and expands the public sphere. Together we act boldly and defiantly to call out “empire,” to dismantle structural racism and poverty, and to establish the “beloved community.”

This was definitely a transformational training! At the end of the training, I decided to build a team of people who will make a difference concerning ex-offenders and their re-entry into society. I also want to be part of the solution in stopping the violence that plagues our society today. I will be leading the Faith Coalition for the Common Good’s Restorative Justice Task Force.

If you are interested in investing in other people like me, please consider giving a year-end gift to the Faith Coalition for the Common Good. Your check can be sent to FCCG, 2208 E. Kansas, Springfield, IL 62703. The cost of Gamaliel National Leadership Training is $700 per person. I am grateful that the Faith Coalition invested in me!

For more information about our Restorative Justice Task Force or to donate to the Faith Coalition online, go to: www.faithcoalition-il.org. You can also call the FCCG office: 544-2297.

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